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Mapping manual/Weapon and item placement
In this section we're going to deal with the weapons and items of the game, and where to better place them. Key objectives are mentioned in the gametype support page. More infos about how each item works in-game can be found in Manual/Items and Manual/Weapons pages. Entities weapon_* See also: Weapons Every one of them gives a specific weapon to the players.weapon_* entities The entities are weapon_bfg (BFG), weapon_chaingun (Chaingun), weapon_gauntlet (Gauntlet), weapon_grapplinghook (Grappling Hook), weapon_grenadelauncher (Grenade Launcher), weapon_lightning (Lightning Gun), weapon_machinegun (Machinegun), weapon_nailgun (Nailgun), weapon_plasmagun (Plasma Gun), weapon_prox_launcher (Prox Launcher/Mine Layer), weapon_railgun (Railgun), weapon_rocketlauncher (Rocket Launcher), and weapon_shotgun (Shotgun). Chaingun, Prox launcher and Nailgun are not supported by most old mods for Q3A, so keep in mind that they will not spawn in the map under those mods. Keys * count: Modifies the amount of ammo given to the player. Each weapon has a default amount (see Manual/Weapons#Pickup_rules). * wait: time in seconds before the item respawns after being picked up (default 5, -1 = never respawn). If the key is not set, the weapon will respawn after 40 seconds in Team Deathmatch mode and after 5 seconds in other modes. * random: random time variance in seconds added or subtracted from "wait" delay (default 0). * team: set this to team items. Teamed items will respawn randomly after team master is picked up. * target: picking up the item will trigger the entity this points to. * targetname: a target_give entity can point to this for respawn freebies. * notbot: when set to 1, a bot will never seek out this item. * notfree: when set to 1, entity will not spawn in "Free for all" and "Tournament" modes. * notteam: when set to 1, entity will not spawn in "Teamplay" and "CTF" modes. * notsingle: when set to 1, entity will not spawn in Single Player mode (bot play mode). Spawnflags * SUSPENDED: item will spawn where it was placed in map and won't drop to the floor. Bots will only be attracted to suspended entities if they are reachable by way of a jump pad or launch pad (trigger_push), or are in water. ammo_* Every one of them gives ammo to a specific weapon.ammo_* entities The entities are ammo_belt (Chaingun), ammo_bfg (BFG), ammo_cells (Plasma Gun), ammo_grenades (Grenade Launcher), ammo_lightning (Lightning Gun), ammo_mines (Prox Launcher), ammo_nails (Nailgun), ammo_rockets (Rocket Launcher), ammo_shells (Shotgun) and ammo_slugs (Railgun). Ammo boxes for Chaingun, Prox launcher and Nailgun are not supported by most old mods for Q3A. Keys * count: Modifies the amount of ammo given to the player. Each ammo box has a default amount (see Manual/Weapons#Pickup_rules). Setting to negative values removes ammo from the player, but it's not advisable to do so, as having less than 0 ammo isn't really supported and causes strange behaviors like infinite ammo and odd counters in some weapon bar styles. * wait: time in seconds before the item respawns after being picked up (default 40, -1 = never respawn). * random: random time variance in seconds added or subtracted from "wait" delay (default 0). * team: set this to team items. Teamed items will respawn randomly after team master is picked up. * target: picking up the item will trigger the entity this points to. * targetname: a target_give entity can point to this for respawn freebies. * notbot: when set to 1, a bot will never seek out this item. * notfree: when set to 1, entity will not spawn in "Free for all" and "Tournament" modes. * notteam: when set to 1, entity will not spawn in "Teamplay" and "CTF" modes. * notsingle: when set to 1, entity will not spawn in Single Player mode (bot play mode). Spawnflags * SUSPENDED: item will spawn where it was placed in map and won't drop to the floor. Bots will only be attracted to suspended entities if they are reachable by way of a jump pad or launch pad (trigger_push), or are in water. item_* (General) The entities in this category have different functions. They range from giving health, armor and temporal abilities to players to more advanced functions.item_* entities In this section and the next ones, we're only going to see items which give players something in-game. This section will mention the shared keys and spawnflags across all these items. item_botroam is explained in the bot play page. Keys * team: set this to team items. Teamed items will respawn randomly after team master is picked up. * target: picking up the item will trigger the entity this points to. * targetname: a target_give entity can point to this for respawn freebies. * notbot: when set to 1, a bot will never seek out this item. * notfree: when set to 1, entity will not spawn in "Free for all" and "Tournament" modes. * notteam: when set to 1, entity will not spawn in "Teamplay" and "CTF" modes. * notsingle: when set to 1, entity will not spawn in Single Player mode (bot play mode). Spawnflags * SUSPENDED: item will spawn where it was placed in map and won't drop to the floor. Bots will only be attracted to suspended entities if they are reachable by way of a jump pad or launch pad (trigger_push), or are in water. item_* (Armor) See also: Armor Gives armor to the player. The entities are item_armor_shard (Armor Shard, +5), item_armor_combat (Combat Armor, +50) and item_armor_body (Body Armor, +100). Keys * wait: time in seconds before item respawns after being picked up (default 25, -1 = never respawn). * random: random time variance in seconds added or subtracted from "wait" delay (default 0). item_* (Health) See also: Health Gives health to the player. The entities are item_health_small (Small Health, +5), item_health (Medium Health, +25), item_health_large (Large Health, +50) and item_health_mega (Megahealth, +100). Only "small" and "mega" can be picked up if the player is already over 100. Keys * wait: time in seconds before item respawns after being picked up (default 35, Megahealth default 40, -1 = never respawn). * random: random time variance in seconds added or subtracted from "wait" delay (default 0). * count: sets the amount of health points given to the player when item is picked up. Default value depends from the health kind chosen. item_* (Powerups) See also: Powerups Gives temporary advantages/abilities to the player. The entities are item_enviro (Battle Suit), item_flight (Flight), item_haste (Haste/Speed), item_invis (Invisibility), item_quad (Quad Damage) and item_regen (Regeneration). After a gamestart these power-ups appear sometime between 0:30 and 1:00 for the first time. Later respawns depend from "wait" key. Keys * wait: time in seconds before item respawns after being picked up (default 120, -1 = never respawn). * random: random time variance in seconds added or subtracted from "wait" delay (default 0). * count: time in seconds that power-up will last when picked up (default 30; "Flight" lasts 60 seconds by default). item_* (Runes) See also: Runes and Special game options#Runes Runes (also known as "persistant power ups" or "team power ups") give persistant advantages/abilities to the player until he's fragged or suicides. They do not respawn before their old bearer is dead, and do it immediately then. The entities are item_ammoregen (Ammo Regen), item_doubler (Doubler), item_guard (Guard) and item_scout (Scout). The standard use of runes is to place them in the two bases, and use "spawnflags" to allow the players of each team to get only those in their own half of the map. But it's also possible to place them in the middle of the map, without team limits: this would make the two teams battle to get them. In case you use team-limitation on them, it is highly advisable to also set "notfree/1" on them, to prevent the runes from spawning in non-team-based modes, where nobody would be able to pick them up. In case you placed both team-based and non-team-based runes (aiming for different gametypes), you may wish to also use "notteam/1" on the non-team-based ones. Runes are not supported by most old mods for Q3A and will spawn in baseoa only if g_runes CVAR is set to 1 (default is 0). Keys * wait: time in seconds before the item respawns after being picked up (default 0, -1=never respawn). * random: random time variance in seconds added or subtracted from "wait" delay (default 0). Spawnflags * REDTEAM (2): only players of red team can pick it up * BLUETEAM (4): only players of blue team can pick it up holdable_* See also: Holdable items These items can be hold until a key is pressed, which activates them.holdable_* entities They can be used at any time, hence the name. There are four entities: holdable_invulnerability (Invulnerability), holdable_kamikaze (Kamikaze), holdable_medkit (Medkit) and holdable_teleporter (Personal Teleporter). Invulnerability and Kamikaze are not supported by most old mods for Q3A. Keys * wait: time in seconds before the item respawns after being picked up (default 60, -1 = never respawn). * random: random time variance in seconds added or subtracted from "wait" delay (default 0). * team: set this to team items. Teamed items will respawn randomly after team master is picked up. * target: picking up the item will trigger the entity this points to. * targetname: a target_give entity can point to this for respawn freebies. * notbot: when set to 1, a bot will never seek out this item. * notfree: when set to 1, entity will not spawn in "Free for all" and "Tournament" modes. * notteam: when set to 1, entity will not spawn in "Teamplay" and "CTF" modes. * notsingle: when set to 1, entity will not spawn in Single Player mode (bot play mode). Spawnflags * SUSPENDED: item will spawn where it was placed in map and won't drop to the floor. Bots will only be attracted to suspended entities if they are reachable by way of a jump pad or launch pad (trigger_push), or are in water. Design tips * The use of the "wait" and "count" keys is unadvisable in non-experimental maps, as they do change the respawn time and amount these items can give, indeed changing the gameplay. * The amount of time it takes for an item in the team to respawn is determined by the "wait" value of the item that was picked up previously. So if one of the items in the team has it's "wait" key set to -1 (never respawn), the random respawning cycle of the teamed items will stop after that item is picked up. * When the random key is set, its value is used to calculate a minimum and a maximum delay. The final time delay will be a random value anywhere between the minimum and maximum values: (min delay = wait - random) (max delay = wait + random). * An ammo item can be given a negative "count" value. In combination with a target_give entity, it can be used to set up games mods like Rocket Arena by removing the machinegun ammunition from a player when he spawns into the map. Placement tips Placing items is something of an art.LevelDK 3: placing items This said, there are many things to bear in mind regarding placement in any map: * Usually, there's no need to include the machinegun weapon in the map, but only its ammo, because by default all players spawn already having it. Also, usually there is no need to include the gauntlet, as it's a "stock" weapon, too. * There's no real need to include all the weapons and powerups, only use those that seem appropriate to the level. * Risk vs. Reward: Due to the fact that placement affects balanceItem placement by Matthew "Lunaran" Breit, powerful items (Holdables, Powerups, BFG) should be placed in such a way that their collection is difficult or dangerous. Weaker items (Shotgun, Grenade Launcher, Armor Shard, Small Health) can be placed near player spawnpoints so they don't have to move much to get armed and survive until they find something better. * Flow: Avoid placing ammo too close to its weapon, especially when it comes to powerful weapons. Likewise, avoid placing powerful weapons, armor and health in a cluster. Players should move around and be given little opportunity to camp; encouraging good circulation in a map assists with good bot play too. * More powerful weapons should have limited ammo box count to ensure better balance. Three ammo packs per weapon in non-symmetrical levels oriented to FFA, TDM or 1on1 should be enough.CPMA Competitive game guide For symmetrical levels oriented to CTF games, two ammo packs per base should be the limit. The rule is that the stronger the weapon, the less ammo packs for that weapon are needed (Lightning Gun and Railgun only need a pack, for example; Nailgun, Prox Launcher and Chaingun without the Runes also need one pack as much). Otherwise, they would dominate a map. * Health must be sufficient but not overdone, the same applies to ammo and armor. Also, the amount greatly depends on whether you want players to have access to more health and less armor, or vice versa. ** For Health, the acceptable limits are between 150-250, not counting Small Health packs. With a Megahealth in the map, less health is needed. Place the larger groups of health in more dangerous and exposed areas, and place smaller amounts of health in "down" areas. Just don't make it a kamikaze run for the down player to heal up. ** For Armor, spread it out as much as possible. The danger in grabbing an armor should match its respective armor, so the Body Armor (+100) should be more dangerous to get than the Combat Armor (+50). For balance reasons, the Megahealth should be treated as a kind of armor. ** For CTF-based levels, defenders should be able to defend the bases, but shouldn't get too much power. * Balance: try to balance areas/routes around the level to ensure that equal advantage and disadvantage can be found in any direction. * Don’t include the kamikaze in a map where players are unlikely to ever see the full effect of the explosion. * The personal teleporter entity takes the player to a deathmatch spawn.Design tips for MP/TA game entities Use the "gametype" and "!gametype" key to specify where the player should spawn in CTF-based modes and both Domination modes. More on these keys and gametypes in the gametype support page. * The standard use of the Runes is to place them in the two bases, and use the "spawnflags" to allow the players of a team to get only those in their base.This is intended for balance: each team will have its own "scout" player, its own "guard" player, etc. If you wish, it is even possible to place more spawn points for the same kind of permanent power-up, e.g. to allow two "scouts" per team. But it's also possible to place them in the middle of the map, without team limits: this would make the two teams battle to get them. ** The Runes are also used to counteract the effect of overpowered weapons, as without them one has to consider the Nailgun, the Chaingun and the Prox Launcher as superweapons on par with the BFG. * The Prox Launcher is used to counteract the Invulnerability sphere, as only mines can trespass the Invul shield. Mines can be triggered with any other weapon which produces splash damage. You might want to bear this in mind when including either the PL or the Invul on your maps. * When playing a map with most old mods designed for Quake 3, nothing will spawn in the place of the Missionpack itemsProx Launcher, Nailgun, Chaingun; their respective ammo boxes; the four "Runes"; Invulnerabilty and Kamikaze.. For this reason, be sure your map has enough "standard" weapons to be playable also in mods which do not support the three TA weapons. ** A possible trick is to use the "team" key to make a Team Arena item (usually a weapon) to spawn alternately with a standard item. This way, in old mods, the standard item will spawn each time. * Unless the "suspended" flag is set, these items will spawn on the ground even if you placed them mid-air: you do not need to align them perfectly with the ground, you can just place them far enough from ground and walls to prevent the model from being shown partially in solid while in game. ** Items crossing a solid brush won't be able to spawn at all. When you load your map in the game, take a look to the command console output, under "---- Map Loading ----" section and below "AAS initialized" line: it may report something like "item_name in solid/startsolid at (x y z)"... in that case, you should go to those coordinates in the editor, and move the items which "start solid" enough to solve the problem. This test can be performed even more easily by using dedicated server executables (oa_ded), because of much less stuff shown in console at map load. *** If the map has got its .aas file, under "map loading" section of the console log you may also find notes about items which are "not reachable for bots" (e.g. due to appearing inside a "botclip" area). Notes